


Parking Meter Meltdown

by andachippedcup



Series: Domestic Belle [20]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-18
Updated: 2013-03-18
Packaged: 2017-12-05 18:17:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/726355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andachippedcup/pseuds/andachippedcup





	Parking Meter Meltdown

Belle rarely had trouble sleeping. It was, he suspected, the product of a clean conscience, or so he liked to tell her and watch as the rouge of blush crept up her cheeks. However, by the midpoint of her pregnancy, his little Belle's stomach was swollen enough with child that, each night, she tossed and turned in their bed.

Her reading had led her to learn that sleeping on her left side would be best for their child and it was on her left side that she began each night. Eventually though, the aches of her body would prompt her to try her right side in vain. Never her back though; she'd read that sleeping on your back put strain on the uterus and was unhealthy for the baby.

She created nests from pillows; pillows at her back, supporting her stomach, between her knees. She had tried maternity belts, a glass of warm milk before bed, no water after dinner. She'd eliminated caffeine from her diet entirely, they'd used an air conditioner to lower the temperature of the bedroom and she'd stopped reading in bed after a recommendation to use their bedroom for sleeping and sex only.

Nothing had worked. Still his darling wife went without sleep and he, by extension, lost sleep with the knowledge that she was uncomfortable and going without.

Rumplestiltskin was forced to watch as his wife disintegrated before his very eyes, her lack of sleep leaving her less than her best. His wife, normally so sharp of wit, was fast becoming no sharper than a rather blunt hammer.

She'd placed the laundry detergent in the refrigerator and the milk in the cabinet in the laundry room. She'd gotten angry at the computer monitor when she'd attempted to use it as a touch screen and it had been unresponsive. She'd accidentally walked out of the grocery store without paying for her groceries and had had to be called back by a bag boy to pay for them. She'd called him all in a panic after being unable to find the car keys after an hour long search, only to find them later in her jacket pocket.

The final straw had come when he'd received a phone call from Sheriff Swan informing him that she'd been called to handle a 'disturbance of the peace' and that said disturbance had been his wife.

When the black Cadillac had pulled up outside of the pharmacy, Gold had already been on edge, not much fancying getting calls from the Sheriff demanding his presence immediately. Those thoughts, however, fled his mind when he caught sight of his very pregnant wife sitting in the back of the Sheriff's patrol car. In an instant, his protective instincts went online and he was already seeing red when he stalked toward Emma.

The Sheriff-Savior stood, arms crossed, leaning against the hood of the vehicle as she watched Gold approach, a smirk on her face.

"What exactly are you playing at, Ms. Swan?" He asked in a rage as he and his cane stamped closer, halting beyond arm's reach of the blonde for her own safety, not his. "I don't take kindly to seeing my wife in the back of your police car." He warned and Emma raised her hands before her in a show of innocence for response.

"Hey, don't look at me. Call came into the station, some lady going berserk on a parking meter. I showed up and found your wife here, beating the stuffing out of _that-_ " she explained, motioning toward the mangled remains of what had once been a parking meter. The top half of it, however, now sat on the ground amongst glass and metal fragments.

Gold surveyed the scene coolly, doing his best to maintain a neutral expression.

"Yes well, they're a bloody nuisance. No one uses coins, nowadays anyway." He remarked dismissively. "Tell the proprietor to send me the bill for it." He commented with a wave of his hand as he started toward the vehicle but Emma intercepted him with a hand on his chest.

"Hold up there, Gold. If you think you're just gonna throw some money at this and be done, you're wrong." She commented in a superior tone (or so he perceived it). The pawnbroker shifted away from the Sheriff's touch as if he'd been branded and stood brandishing his cane at her.

"Now Sheriff Swan, we both know that you are not about to arrest a young pregnant woman whose only crime is being so thoroughly with child that she cannot sleep and therefore, had a momentary breakdown. So I suggest you step aside and let me get my wife out of your car or there'll be more broken things around here than just a parking meter." He snarled menacingly. To her credit, the savior looked a little taken aback by his response, though she did not step out of his way.

"Easy there; before you go all whack-a-mole on me with your cane, hear me out." Emma explained. "I wasn't planning on arresting her; the owner's not pressing charges. Everyone in this town adores Belle, we both know that. But she's clearly not herself. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay and to ask if there was anything I can do." Emma offered, her tone level and serious, marked by compassion as she folded her arms in front of herself dutifully.

Gold felt a little of the tension leave his body as he squared off with her and he turned his gaze to the side, gritting his teeth. He didn't like asking for help; the idea that he was incapable of providing for Belle's needs made him like it even less. But still, if there was something the Sheriff could do to ease his wife's discomfort, he would not let his pride get in the way.

"She's not sleeping." He growled out through a clenched jaw. "She's tried everything she's read about but she's still not getting any rest. Her mind's gone out the window." He admitted sheepishly and Emma nodded, understanding dawning in her eyes.

"I had trouble sleeping toward the end of my pregnancy." Emma admitted, carefully avoiding his eyes as she spoke; it was still awkward for both of them, realizing that they were inexplicably connected through Bae - Neal, as she knew him. "Tell Belle not to recline at all for at least a couple hours after each meal. It'll cut down on the heartburn. Eat more carb heavy foods with dinner, it'll help make her sleepy. Set a routine and follow it and then yoga. Have her... have her try yoga. Nothing too strenuous though." Emma advised quietly as she tentatively lifted her gaze to look at him.

The pawnbroker stared at her quietly and nodded gratefully after a while.

"Thank you, Sheriff Swan." He intoned genuinely as he strolled around her and to the back of the patrol car, opening the door for his wife and extending a hand toward her with a flourish. Belle, however, did not accept his hand and instead sat with her hands behind her, staring resolutely straight ahead.

"...Belle, dearie?" He intoned curiously, watching as his wife bit her lip and faced him with watery eyes, though her hands did not move. He glanced back at Emma, his gaze hardening. "Did you... did you _cuff her_?" He asked as Emma's eye bulged.

"What? No!" She exclaimed, rushing over to his side just as Belle brought her hands to rest in her lap and shook her head in answer to her husband's question.

"No, she didn't." Belle sniffed. "I was just pretending she did, to teach myself a lesson. I can't believe I did that! I don't even know how it happened. One minute I was going to pay for someone's meter because it was about to expire a-and the next..." She gestured mournfully at the busted meter, shaking her head. "I don't know what I did! Why would I do that, Rum?" She queried as she took his hands in hers and he helped her gently from the car.

"You weren't thinking love; you're sleep deprived and busy growing another human being. Your mind just shut off for a moment, that's all." He cooed and Belle shivered involuntarily as he draped his jacket around her.

"But I broke it! I _really_ broke it!" She squeaked as she surveyed the damage. "How did I even manage that?" She inquired and he could only chuckle softly.

"Darling, I learned a long time ago to stop asking myself how you manage the things you do." He grinned at her sweetly and pressed a comforting kiss to her cheek.

"Can we go home?" Belle asked in a quiet voice and he nodded with a smile.

"Yes love, that we can." He responded, guiding her gingerly away from the Sheriff and toward their own vehicle.

"Oh good." Belle remarked, a ghost of a smile brushing across her weary features. "A nap sounds rather good, don't you think?" She inquired, to which her husband could only nod in agreement as they walked past the Sheriff who could only shake her head and laugh softly to herself. 


End file.
